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University of Southern California (USC)

University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA, United States
3.63 / 5 based on 30 reviews.
Description:
Today, USC has grown into an international center of learning, enrolling more than 28,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students on two campuses and offering degrees through its College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, Graduate School and 16 professional schools.


Reviews
International Partners
Programmes
Accreditations
63% of students recommend
30 reviews
Housing
3.1/5
 All experiences (30)
Student life
3.5/5
 5 stars (6)
Academic
3.8/5
 4 stars (12)
Languages
4.0/5
 3 stars (6)
Expenses
3.3/5
 2 stars (6)
Overall
3.9/5
 1 star (0)
“I liked it because it was an awesome life experience. As one writer mentioned before, this place is completely different from the rest of the Western world. These people are not known for the culture (in fact this is so true), and most of them are not very friendly either. Actually, most (if not all) of my friends here are international students. Don't expect to find life-time friendships (I don't think you will find it), and try to be as superficial as you can. Please get a car as soon as yo...” Read Review
patrickuye, Brazil

30 reviews of University of Southern California

PAGE: 1 2 3 4 5 … 5    NEXT »
1 to 1 of 5 
HOUSING    
by patrickuye, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States
Business Studies, Independent
Personal assessment
Cost
KEY:
Couldn't have asked for more.
Pretty good.
Could've been better, but didn't lessen the overall experience.
Disappointing.
Facilities
Location
Cleanliness
Space
Type of housing: Apartment/House
Arranged by: Independently - My choice
If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House
Why? Because you can be more independent.
Personal comments:
After two years living in a university owned property (the first in the dorm and then in an appartment), I chose to live in an appartment because the area where the school is located is "not very good" I would say, and besides I didn't want to live with people who don't have any respect for someone else's own space and privaty.
This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
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STUDENT LIFE    
by patrickuye, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States
Business Studies, Independent
Personal social experience
Activities
KEY:
Amazing! Hardly had time to study.
Plenty to do when I had the time.
So-so.
Did not get involved.
Nightlife
Travel
Overall
Describe host city: Students interact with the local community without much university involvement
Activities, Nightlife, Travel: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment
Personal comments:
As we, foreigners say, Los Angeles is like a playground, you go to a place and then to another located in a very far distance, you need to have patience and a car if you wnat to enjoy the city at least a little bit.
This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
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ACADEMIC    
by patrickuye, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States
Business Studies, Independent
My academic experiences
Quality of courses
KEY:
Fantastic.
Pretty good.
Could've been a bit better.
Disappointing.
Variety of courses
Availability/access to resources
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with other international students
Interaction with local students
Course recommendations:
It depends on the professor. Some of them can make the course very interesting and others extremely boring. If you like Finance, I would suggest Investments and Financial Derivatives.



My opinion of the university assessment
Exams at end of course
KEY:
Liked it.
It was alright.
A bit annoying.
Didn't like it.
Exams throughout the course
Essays and/or projects at the end of course.
Essays and/or projects throughout the course
Overall
Personal comments:
Please be prepare to do a lot of assignment and group projects (I hate them, it is very hard to work with this not very intellectual Southern Californians)

This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
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by patrickuye, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States
Business Studies, Independent
Language difficulties
Social
KEY:
No problems.
I coped pretty well.
Sometimes it was difficult.
It was a constant struggle.
Educational
Administrative / Institutional
Overall
Language of instruction: English
Was learning English a key decision factor?
No, it wasn't.
How much did you improve your English?
My level before: No problems in any areas (including slang)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)
Personal comments:
I already knew the language before coming, it was required.
This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
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EXPENSES    
by patrickuye, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States
Business Studies, Independent
The accessibility of student needs
Second-hand text books
KEY:
Very easy.
Minimal effort.
Accessible but required effort.
Almost impossible.
Second-hand household items
Computers / Internet
Administrative
Money from home
Main source of funding:
Family
Other sources of funding:
Personal savings
Work opportunities:
I didn't want/need to work
Personal spending habits:
Food on campus is kind of over prices and not very good. In some "restaurants", the food tastes like nothing. Other than that, everything was OK.
Food, Travel, Nightlife, Housing: was more expensive than at home.
Overall: was the same price as at home.
Telephone: was less expensive than at home.
Personal comments:
This university is very, very expensive for an international student (about 30.000 $ a year), that's why they love us here.
This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
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OVERALL    
by patrickuye, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States
Business Studies, Independent
Important to choosing this university...
Academic reasons
KEY:
Very Important.
Important.
Not really important.
Unimportant.
Culture
Costs
Activities
Campus life
Party / people
Weather / Location
I wish I had known...
Actually, it is already known both in Europe (I have lived in France, Italy, and Spain) and in Brazil (my home country) that Americans (not all of them) are not intellectual and/or friendly. I just wish I had met more Europeans or South Americans.
In my opinion:
I loved it but I'm not sure everybody would.



During my experience abroad, I ...
Became familiar with another culture
KEY:
Happened all the time.
Happened quite a lot.
Happened a bit.
Didn't happen.
Traveled
Improved language skills
Met people from other countries
Became more independent
Partied a lot
Experienced a change in life
Advanced my studies/career
Personal recommendation:
It is good university (its Business and Cinema school are among the best of the country) but it is extremely expensive (over 30.000$) and consider that you MUST get a car if you want to survive here.



FINAL COMMENTS

I liked it because it was an awesome life experience. As one writer mentioned before, this place is completely different from the rest of the Western world. These people are not known for the culture (in fact this is so true), and most of them are not very friendly either. Actually, most (if not all) of my friends here are international students. Don't expect to find life-time friendships (I don't think you will find it), and try to be as superficial as you can. Please get a car as soon as you get here (your life will be miserable without one) and learn how to cook, you will need it.
This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
Was this review useful?   Yes · No